


Through Apple Tinted Glasses

by Iki_teru



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Community: kh_drabble, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 16:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iki_teru/pseuds/Iki_teru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tifa and Cloud comes home in time for the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through Apple Tinted Glasses

“and then the troll snorted Rikku-“ Yuffie pauses to demonstrate exactly the noise and method – “right up his nose.” She laughs at her story, although all others present can only stare at her in various degrees of disbelief and horror.

“Yuffie,” says Aerith, her face a half frozen in the I am mentally reminding myself that I love you. “Didn’t we discuss the list of acceptable stories to tell at holiday?”

Yuffie scoffs. “That was a totally acceptable story! It had a happy ending and everything!”

Aerith unloads an armful of evergreen branches to Yuffie, momentarily quieting the younger girl. “Happy ending was not the entirety of the criteria, you know it.” Pauses long enough to show Yuffie how to twist the branches until they form a circle.

“I don’t even know why we’re doing this,” whines Yuffie. “I mean, presents? Yay, presents! But whateven is all the rest of this who-wha?” She places her newly formed wreath, dotted through with holly, on her head. “Do I get to declare myself king now?”

Cid snorts, tugging the wreath free from Yuffie and leaving her hair in even more disarray than usually.

“It’s tradition, Yuffie,” explains Aerith. “To celebrate the end of dark days and the promise of sun to come.”

“Awesome, no really, I could not be more enthralled by all this. Last question, scout’s honor and then we go back to making crowns of glory for my new status as royalty.” Yuffie points a finger towards Leon, who has thus far been sitting in the living room and polishing his gunblade. “How come he not helping with the jolly making?”

Aerith doesn’t quite get the chance to respond when there’s a knock on the door. Since she has a handful of bread dough and Yuffie and Cid are both thoroughly locked down with pine needles and berries and the, apparently, rough decision of how to garnish things; she was left giving a pleading look to Leon.

He gives her a vaguely unamused look, she can almost hear the sigh even if he doesn’t actually sigh, before shuffling towards the door.

Leon has barely brushed the doorknob when it twists from the other side and flies open. On the outside is one half-slumped Cloud, looking a tad worse for the wear, and one Tifa, grinning broadly despite the singe of burnt hair and the smear of blood across her cheek.

“We were in the area,” says Tifa. “Thought we might stop by, Aerith calm down, Cloud is fine, he just needs some rest, I promise.” Tifa ducks back out for a moment and re-enters with a cloth sack bulging at the seams.

Yuffie is instantly on alert. “Is that presents? Because that looks like presents to me, is that presents?”

Tifa grins, pulls out a small package wrapped in plain paper with Yuffie’s name scrawled across it in a grease pencil. “Sorry it’s not more festive.” But her words are drowned out by the deafening squeal as Yuffie all but throws herself at Tifa.

“You, are the best, most bodacious, most kickass, most beautiful person ever.” She rips off less than half the paper before she squeals again and does a little dance in place. “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, it’s the next book in the series, how did you even find this? You are like magic.” And she wanders away after that, still singing praises to Tifa that slowly drift off as she loses herself in the world of words.

Tifa pulls out a three small bags full of loose-leaf teas for Cid. “I wasn’t sure if you’ve tried any of these, so I figured better safe than sorry.”

Cid holds the bags up triumphantly. “This,” he declares. “This is my gift for putting up with Yuffer for a full damn year and not strangling her.” He pecks Tifa on the cheek once, wandering off to try a cup of his new tea immediately.

Tifa pulls out one more thing, a small box, and passes it to Aerith.

Leon resolutely tells himself that he does not feel disappointed.

“It’s a seedling of this beautiful flower I found on one of the worlds. I’m not even sure if it can grow in Radiant Graden, but I figured if anyone had a shot of it, you would.”

“Oh, Tifa.” The women embrace warmly for a moment. “I had no idea you were coming in! we didn’t get anything ready for you.”

Tifa waves the worry away. “I do have a small favor, if you don’t mind.” There is a brief, whispered conversation; one furtive look towards Leon from Aerith, and a giggle that seemed to be some sort of signed agreement between them.

Suddenly alone, Leon can almost feel the urge to offer assistance to something bubbling in his throat when Tifa pokes her head back around the corner. “Sit.” She says, no question about it.

It’s a solid thirty minutes later, a boring thirty minutes of just sitting and listening to the distant giggle of Aerith and Tifa in the kitchen.

Tifa finally comes back out, curling up nearby him on the couch with a bright smile. “Sorry, yours is a little later than the others.” She passes him an earthenware jug.

Leon doesn’t even have to pull the cork on it, he can already smell the contents in the air. “Is this?”

Tifa nods, suddenly gone shy as she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ears. “I remember….back at the Academy, when Matron would make cider. It was the only time you ever really smiled.”

Leon pulls the cork, the full scent of the cider and memories he didn’t know it could contain hits him. He’s not quite shaking as he reaches for two glasses. The two words are in his throat, jammed up tight even after the first swig. (and it tastes like youth and sunlight and warmth and a pair of bright eyes catching his across the cafeteria.) “Tifa, I—“

“Oh look, there’s that smile again.” She bumps his shoulder playfully. “I knew it couldn’t be far away."


End file.
